A Christmas Murdoch
by Demosthenes23
Summary: Christmas Eve/Day with The Murdoch's and company back in 1901.
1. A Little Less Magical

On a surprisingly warm December twenty-fourth, an exhausted Murdoch and Julia returned home from a rather lengthy shopping trip. His arms were so burdened with presents that it was difficult to see in front of him, especially since the only light illuminating the street was emanating from the lamp posts. When they arrived at the dimly shining iron gate, he walked straight into the four foot high brick wall attached to it, dropping half the presents on the ground!

_Confound it!_

Inwardly he was seething but outwardly he appeared only slightly distressed. A few of the boxes spilled their contents, getting slightly dirty on the sidewalk. But luckily nothing appeared to be ruined. If that had been the case, Murdoch would have tried kicking himself out of sheer frustration (for the day had been very long and intolerably boring), which would have resulted in nothing other than him dropping the other half.

"_William_," muttered an exasperated Julia, a slight smile playing across her lips at his misadventure.

Releasing her hold on the cream coloured stroller, she bent over to retrieve the first parcel and then stacked it back on top of the bundle. This process was continued for a short while until she was almost finished.

"I'm sorry, Julia," he said quietly, seriously, after he had regained a measure of composure.

She laughed then, replying, "It's quite all right, dear. It's not the end of the world!"

He smiled at her but since she could no longer see his face, it was a pointless gesture. Apparently she had stacked them even worse than before, as he could no longer see in front of him at all. He didn't want to complain so close to home so he said nothing. Julia placed the last present in place and said, "Do try to be more careful this time, William."

"I'll do my best."

Murdoch could hear the slight creak of the gate and then the rolling of the stroller wheels. He moved forward slowly, kicking the side of the wall until he felt the opening to their property. Now it was just a simple matter of walking straight for about ten paces. By then he would reach the stairs and it would become fairly difficult to traverse them without being able to see where he was going. Clearly Julia realized this because she was right there beside him, guiding him with a light pressure on his arm.

"That's it, William," she said as they reached the top. She continued to lead him into the house and over to the kitchen table where he was finally able to rid himself of the odious packages. "Well done, dear," she said, smiling, and then gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

Plopping himself into a vacant chair, "I'm exhausted! Hopefully we won't have to leave this task till the last minute next year."

Smirking, "Yes, those last few murderers were very inconsiderate to your shopping needs."

Reluctantly he returned the smile and then pulled her into his lap, his spontaneity surprising her considering his self professed fatigue. Faces close together, he gave her a look of feigned annoyance. "Are you making fun of me, doctor?"

Mock confusion. "Not at all, detective. Whatever gave you that impression?"

They smiled at each other again and then he felt the familiar sensation of her lovely lips brushing against his own. The kiss began to deepen the longer they kept at it and he pulled her even closer towards him. She thrust her hands into his slick hair, messing the back of it up, and just as they reached the peak of their pleasure, there was a loud wail and their passion was instantly silenced. Even so, they only slowly parted, foreheads touching.

"She does have impeccable timing, doesn't she?" asked Murdoch. "I'm starting to think she's spending entirely too much time around her uncle."

Julia rolled her eyes at that and then left to go tend to the baby, their baby, their miracle child. Olivia had been born on June 9th, 1901 at 2:42 in the afternoon, a month earlier than expected. Her premature lungs had appeared to not be working properly and Murdoch had feared the worst. But God had been smiling on him that day and soon she opened her precious mouth wide and let out the most magnificent sound he had ever heard, the exact sound that had caused his wife to leave the room not a moment ago. ***Note: if you want to read a more detailed description of the birth, please see my previous work if you haven't already done so.**

A short while later, (but which felt interminably long to him) Julia returned and headed straight for him, eyes hungry to continue their salacious exploit. Her looks made him forget his tiredness all together and as she straddled him, wasted no time in beginning anew. About three seconds later, there was a knock at the door.

_Now what?_

Julia removed herself from his lap and he went over to see who it was. Carollers. Normally he would be in the Christmas spirit for such things but at the moment, he really didn't want them there. He was about to tell them to go away, when Julia came up behind him, closing the door and placing one arm across his lower back. He returned the gesture and they stood there peacefully listening to a rather exuberant version of Away in a Manger. Afterwards they thanked them and returned inside, only to find their six year old standing there, looking confused at the parcels on the table.

_Darn it! He was supposed to be asleep!_

A second later their maid, Connie, burst into the room. She observed the scene before her in horror and then began profusely apologizing to him.

"I'm ever so sorry, Mr. Murdoch! He was quite adamant about seeing Santa Claus!"

"That's all right, Connie," replied Julia, sensing her husband was in a bad mood. "Ben can be difficult some times. You can go home now."

"Thank you ma'am!" she said, crossing the room in a few strides and grabbing her coat. Before she left she said, "Merry Christmas!" and was out the door before they could respond.

"Remind me why we hired her again?" grumbled Murdoch.

Julia ignored him and squatted down beside a still puzzled Ben. "Come along, Ben, it's time to go back to sleep."

"But I don't wanna! I wanna see Santy-Claus!" Pointing at the table accusingly, "And I wanna know where _those _came from!"

Murdoch grimaced and then joined Julia. "Do as your mother says, son."

"No!" he shrieked, "I wanna know where those came from!"

They looked past him, half expecting his racket to have awoken the baby. For now, Olivia was still sleeping soundly but if they wanted to keep it that way, they were going to have to calm their inquisitive son down. Therefore there were only two options before them. Either lie and say they didn't know how the presents got there or tell their child the truth about the magical man.

Sharing one look with each other, they already knew which path they would follow. It was time to crush their sons innocence a little more. Murdoch was sure Ben could handle this. After all, the boy had already experienced more trauma than most people five times his age. How badly could this additional revelation possibly go?

Murdoch sat down in the same chair he had previously been seducing his wife in and asked Ben to sit in the chair opposite him. He thought the best way to go about this was through logic because his son seemed to respond to that method quite well.

"Do you know how big the globe is, Ben?"

While he was still grumpy, his interest seemed to be peaked and he sat there thoughtfully for several moments. Then he shrugged.

"Well, let's just say that if you tried to walk across it, it would take you four years to go from one end to the other. That's more than twice your current age."

His eyes widened in disbelief.

"Now, say you had the ability to fly instead. Say you could traverse the earth in a...sled-" Ben gave him a suspicious look- "How long do you think it would take then?"

"I dunno but it'd be a lot faster!"

"Yes, Ben, it would be but it would still take days to go from one end to another." Seeing his son still didn't get it, he continued. "Do you know how many children are on the planet?"

"I dunno, a lot."

Murdoch nodded. "More than you can possibly imagine. And most have homes just like this, all across the globe." He hesitated here, exchanging a look with Julia and then charged on ahead. "Now in order for Santa Claus to visit every single one of those children in a single night, this night in fact, he'd have to travel at an impossibly fast speed in order to deliver all the presents in time for Christmas." Ben was silent as he processed this information. "Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"

"I think so!" he said excitedly. "You're saying the reindeer can move really fast!"

"Ben," cut in Julia, "do you understand what impossible means?" He scrunched up his face and then admitted that he didn't. "It means something that can't happen. We're saying there's no way Santa Claus's reindeer could fly fast enough to deliver all the presents in one night."

"Oh," he said confusedly. "So how does Santy-Claus do it then?"

Murdoch rubbed his temple, where a headache had begun to plague him. He had hoped his son would come to this conclusion on his own but apparently that was not be. "Ben," he said calmly, staring directly into his sons eyes, "what we're trying to say is that Santa Claus does not exist. He's not a real person. It's all make belief. A story."

Very distraught,"But then where do the presents come from?"

"We buy them for you," replied Julia, sighing. "That's why they're on the table now."

The poor thing burst into tears, running away from his parents grasps. They chased after him and found him huddled up in a little ball in his bedroom closet. His son's desperate sobs tore at Murdoch's heart strings. It distressed him greatly to see his son suffer, regardless of how silly the reason was. But Murdoch had to admit, he had expected Ben to handle this better. After all, he was an intelligent boy and shouldn't really believe in such things as magic. Murdoch himself had learned the truth about Santa Claus at the age of five and a half when his drunken father had dressed up as the jolly man and made a great big mess of the special occasion. He had been a little shocked by the revelation but not very surprised, for about a year before then, he had suspected something was fishy about the whole thing. It was possible that John Brackenreid's influence had played a role in Ben believing in Santa Claus so implicitly, as John was obsessed with Houdini and all things magical, but there was no real way of knowing. Maybe after all the hardships his son had faced, it was more agreeable to believe in the impossible than deal with reality?

"I'm very sorry we had to tell you this, Ben," said Murdoch, kneeling down beside him and touching his shoulder. His son moved away from his touch, causing Murdoch to frown.

"Honey," cooed Julia, "if you come out of there, I'll make you some hot cocoa."

The incentive of such a rare treat seemed to get his attention and gradually the wailing lessened until he was only sniffling here and there. He raised his head out between his knees and looked up at his parents in all his tear streaked woe. Then he got up slowly and Julia picked him up, wiping away the remainder of the salty deposits. Ben rested his head on her chest as they walked away.

While Julia was tending to their son, Murdoch checked in on Olivia, to make sure all the noise hadn't disturbed her. She was still snuggled up nice and warm in her blue and red blankets, her breathing nice and steady. He grabbed hold of the side of the crib and then ever so softly kissed her forehead. Looking at his pocket watch he saw that it was only eight-thirty-two. Even so he whispered, "Merry Christmas, sweet angel," and then left to go join the others.


	2. The Gift of Giving

Hot cocoa in hand, they cozied up to the dying fire. It wasn't long before Ben had drifted off to sleep again. Julia removed the mug from his hands before it dropped onto the carpet and Murdoch gently picked him up. Deposited back in bed, he rejoined his wife by the fire. Once it was extinguished all together, they wearily entered the kitchen to grab the presents. There were fourteen in total and three of them were for Ben and two for the baby. The rest were for their friends and family. Therefore, most were stashed up high in the main closet. If only they had done this from the get go, their son could have remained in blissful ignorance a little longer. Unfortunately, certain appetites had destroyed all chance of that.

The gifts for their children and each other, were placed under the seven foot high fir tree, not five feet from the fireplace, where four stockings hung, each with a letter designating their names. Into these, Julia plopped a little token of Christmas cheer, that of candy canes and chocolates shaped like reindeer. Ben was likely to still be upset come morning, so attempting to distract him from the previous nights revelation was fairly pointless.

The tree itself was not decorated save for some tinsel. They simply hadn't had the time to do it up magnificently like last year and hadn't wanted Connie to prepare it either, considering this to be a family venture. But all was not lost. Not content with such a dreary display, and feeling a grand gesture necessary after his sons world was made a little less magical, Murdoch scrounged around in his workshop for parts and pieces. Julia asked him if he was coming to bed but he just shook his head and she sighed.

Many hours later, when he felt that his eyes would fall out of the back of his skull, he had completed his masterpiece. He just hoped it worked because if it didn't, all his effort would have been in vain.

* * *

Unlike last Christmas Day, Ben did not come into their room and jump on their bed to wake them up at five in the morning. Nor was he out by the tree examining his presents. He was still asleep, or at least, he hadn't come out of his room yet. Murdoch went to check on him with baby in hand.

Pushing the door open, "Ben, it's time to open your presents."

His son pulled the covers up over his head, "I don't wanna!"

"I know you're still disappointed about Santa Claus but it's still Christmas and I still expect you to accept your presents without complaint."

Silence.

"Have you considered, son, that just because they aren't from him, that they are special nonetheless? Your mother and I love you very much and went to a lot of trouble to get you what you wanted."

Still no response.

"Well, if that's how you feel, Ben, then I guess I'll just have to give them away. Maybe John would prefer your things?"

Throwing back the covers, "It's okay daddy! I'll go open them now!"

Smiling, "I thought you might."

Once The Murdochs were all settled around the tree, Murdoch handed Olivia off to Julia and prepared to awe his family.

"All right," he said, "now watch this!" He plugged in the multicoloured string of lights spiralling around the tree and his wife and son gasped. At first it appeared this large electric load might short a fuse as evidenced by the flickering of the lamps, but they held out and stabilized after a few seconds. As if that weren't enough, he had built a star to go on top that flashed on and off, like a beacon of hope, or Rudolf's nose.

"William!" cried Julia, "How magnificent! I am quite stunned!"

"I'm glad you like it," he replied, smiling slightly. "Ben, what do you think?"

"It's amazing, daddy!" he exclaimed and ran into his arms. "You're the best daddy ever!" Murdoch smiled widely at him and then held him up high so that he could get a close up view of the dazzling star.

"How did you do this, daddy?" he asked as he reached out to it, but not quite high enough to touch it.

"Well son, there are interconnected electrical circuits at play, with various relays and switches-" Ben gave him a confused look. "I'll explain it in detail when you're older, suffice it to say, it's complicated."

Murdoch placed him back on the ground. "Now get to it, son! We don't want to spend all day in doors! The snow has decided to come after all!"

"It has?" shouted Ben excitedly, running over to the window to peer out. "Wow, there's so much!"

He ran back to the tree, sliding a bit in his socks and stopping just before collision. His parents released their pent up breath and shared a relieved look. Within seconds he had ripped open the first box and found a new toy horse for his ever growing collection. At this rate, it would only be a few more years before he'd have enough horses to build a full sized one. Murdoch had vowed to get him some riding lessons, not wanting to deny him something that he aspired to so greatly. That was the final present for him this year. It was all arranged. They would borrow one of the constabulary horses for an hour or so.

Ben's other two presents consisted of Snakes and Ladders and a stethoscope. He was interested in all things animal and frequently borrowed (and lost) Julia's when he listened to his toy's heart beats. They expected he'd go into medicine when he was older, assuming this infatuation continued. Murdoch was a little worried that there would not be much demand for animal doctors in the years to come, what with the advancements in other modes of transportation and everything. But there was no point in worrying about the future, about what might be, especially if he had no control over it. Whatever would be, would be.

While their son had been opening and jubilating over getting what he wanted, what he had asked Santa for, his parents had been opening the gifts for their daughter. Just over six months old, Olivia didn't particularly seem to care or understand what was going on. And in some ways that made her even more endearing to them. So full of innocence and so guileless. It was refreshing to see considering their line of work.

After their son had thanked them profusely and ran to his room to bring out the rest of his toy collection, Murdoch and Julia now exchanged gifts. She had given him a lovely new engraved silver pocket watch, with a picture of the whole family on the inside.

The engraving said, '_No effort could be better spent_.'

Murdoch immediately recognized the duality to this statement. Taken on it's own, it seemed to be just an interesting way to say that family was important and that you should hold on to it. But the quote was actually one of his idol's, that of Tesla. Just last year he had published an article about harnessing the sun's energy. In one part he had mentioned how the greatest adversary to change was that of human ignorance. And the only way to combat this ignorance, was by spreading knowledge at every opportunity, something that Murdoch frequently did. So in many ways, this was the perfect quote since it seemed to symbolize all that he encompassed. Needless to say, he was quite taken with his gift.

He had tried to keep hers a secret but wasn't sure if he had succeeded or not. Regardless if she knew, she was sure to put on a grateful display.

Smiling as he handed it to her he said, "I hope you like it. I put quite a bit of thought into this. After all, such a wonderful wife and mother deserves only the best."

She returned the smile and opened the box. Then in a confused, bemused voice said, "It's...lovely, dear, but uh, what exactly _is_ it?"

Murdoch raised an eyebrow. "It's a remote control, similar to the device Pendrick used to fly his plane on our wedding night."

"Okay...but what exactly is it supposed to control?"

"I'm glad you asked that, Julia. Allow me to demonstrate."

He went to his workshop and brought out Julia's morgue record player.

"I take it that it _wasn't_ broken then," said Julia.

He grinned, "Not exactly."

Murdoch had made several modifications to the player so that with the click of a button, the needle would descend and start playing! Even if you were across the room, or say, working on a dead body, it would be exceedingly easy to use. But that wasn't all! He had also devised a holder of sorts so that multiple records could be flipped through and the desired one then lowered to the player with a simple mechanical arm. The result was an odd looking contraption, but a useful one nonetheless.

He put on her favourite record by pushing a button and Julia laughed, clasping her hands together. "William, you have outdone yourself! Is there no limit to your ingenuity? How did you even find the time for this?"

"I must admit that I've been toying around with the idea of remote controls for several years now. Ever since I heard of Tesla's remote controlled boat I've been curious as to other applications for it. And I know how much you like listening to music while you work but find it a pain to wash up every time you want to change the record, so I thought-"

Here she had grabbed him and planted a big ol' wet kiss on his lips prompting Ben to make a disapproving noise. They ignored him and continued in this exploit for several more seconds and then he held out his hand asking if she'd like to dance. He was much improved since their first chaotic waltz and barely stepped on her feet at all for the next ten minutes. Then Olivia started crying and Julia had to tend to her, prematurely ending their fun, at least in that regard.

Afterwards Murdoch exclaimed, "Get dressed Ben! It's time to make a snowman!"


	3. Sabotage!

The temperature had dropped over the course of the night and as such, there was now nearly half a foot of fluffy, yet substantial virgin snow just outside their front door. However, it was not freezing cold outdoors by any means, rather it was pleasantly chilly, with a happy sun beaming down on the merry party as they got down to business. Murdoch helped his son push the ever larger ball of snow when it became too heavy for his scrawny arms to manage. Julia sat on the sidelines with the bundled up baby, watching their progress in near silence, except for the occasional word of encouragement. Before long the bottom of the snowman was complete and it was on to the middle section. Together they lifted it on top. By the time Murdoch put the head in place, there was scarcely any snow remaining (one is to understand that their front yard was only about thirty-six square feet).

He retrieved the carrot sticking out of his coat pocket, handed it to Ben and then lifted him up high enough to plunge it into the centre of the topmost sphere. Having no coal for eyes or buttons, they made due with some rocks that had been unearthed by their efforts.

"What do you think, Julia," he called, "have your handsome men made you proud?"

Smiling, "I'm sure you have, even without being able to see it properly from over here." With that, she stood from the stairs and walked around to the front of their creation. "Yes, I'd say it's quite an admirable specimen. Well done, Ben," she said, shifting the baby to one arm and squeezing his cheek through the fabric of her brown leather gloves.

Normally this action would induce him to making a face but in this instance he simply said, "Thank you mommy! It was a lot of hard work!"

"Yes, it was, dear," she agreed nodding slightly. "You must be quite famished by now. Why don't we go back in for some breakfast? I'll make your favourite."

"Oh boy!" the little tyke exclaimed. "Oatmeal with raisins!" Licking his lips, "Yum!" Without further ado he ran up the stairs and turning around at the top said, "Hurry up mommy! I'm starving!"

She shared an amused look with her husband and was about to follow when he stopped her with a light pressure on her arm.

"I'll take Olivia off your hands, dear."

Julia smiled and carefully handed the precious cargo over. Then she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and went inside.

"Well, my angel," he said quietly, holding her out to get a view of the snowman, "what do you think of your father's and brother's masterpiece?" Unsurprisingly there was no response and he turned her back around to face him. "Yes, it does leave one speechless, doesn't it?"

She blinked at him a few times with her beautiful bluish green eyes, uncomprehending.

"I suppose we should also get something to eat. There's still a long day ahead of us! At the very least, I desperately need some coffee now! My taste for the vile stuff seems to have changed recently and it's all thanks to you missy! You and all your delightful racket!" At each word, he had tapped her nose, eliciting a small giggle, very reminiscent of her mother even at this early age.

One last fond glance and into the house they went.

* * *

After they were re-fuelled, Murdoch insisted on taking a family picture, baby included. Getting Olivia to sit still while unbundled and awake was nearly impossible and they were almost at their wits ends by the time they managed to take what would undoubtedly be a lovely, clear remembrance in front of the tree with lights ablaze (the star itself could not be on for obvious reasons).

Next they took a picture by the snowman. This task was much easier and they were exceedingly grateful. After that they went for a walk in the park, bidding random strangers seasons greetings as they passed by. Murdoch had just been explaining how the remote controlled record player functioned when he felt something semi-hard hit the side of his head. The remnants of the snowball showered down like fast moving feathers.

"Are you all right, William?" asked Julia after that rude interruption, trying not to laugh.

"Perfectly fine, Julia. The snow is quite soft."

He looked down at Ben, who was still holding his hand and then surveyed the relatively flat landscape in the direction of the assault and the culprit. At first he could discern nothing but then there was a flash of movement from behind a tree and another snowball came hurtling towards him. Murdoch dodged it but by doing so, caused Julia to get hit in the chest instead, bits of snow falling down onto the baby in the stroller. Olivia was startled out of a nap by the sudden coldness but didn't cry.

Julia was surprised but then laughed. Murdoch was less amused. He didn't take kindly to his family being attacked by an anonymous stranger, regardless if it was fairly harmless. Letting go of Ben's hand and telling him to stay there, he jumped off the cleared trail and into the untamed winter wilderness, not caring that his pant legs were slowly getting wet.

"William!" called Julia, "Is that really necessary?"

Not responding, he continued his trek into the centre of a field. The next second he was hit from behind. He whirled around to try and spot the hooligan but they were remaining too well covered by the trees here. Again, a snowball hit him in the back. Knowing that there was no way they could have possibly moved that fast, especially without him seeing anything, he determined that there must be more than one miscreant afoot.

"All right!" he exclaimed, "you've had your fun! Now show yourselves!" The only response was another snowball colliding with his head. Murdoch grit his teeth and shouted, "I'll have you know that I am a police officer and can arrest you both for disturbing the peace!"

Laughing ensued this declaration and finally someone appeared. It was George. He was doubled over in his merriment, leaning against the tree for support. Turning around, he saw the other culprit was Henry. He simply smirked at Murdoch in that smug way that was annoying to him.

Still irritated he faced his protegee and said, "Is this how you choose to conduct yourself when not on duty, George?" The detective's words and tone made George sober up a bit and he glanced at his boss in confusion. "I would have expected more from an acting detective!"

"With all due respect, sir," replied Henry, who had come around to stand by his friend, "you need to lighten up!"

Rather than heed his words he said, "And _you_, constable, what on earth possessed you to do such a thing?"

"I don't see what the big deal is!" yelled Henry, getting uncharacteristically angry. "It's just some lousy snow!"

"The big deal, Henry, is that you could have hit my daughter! Or did you forget what the stroller meant?"

That made them share a grimacing look.

"You're right, Will," said George, hanging his head, "we didn't think this through. I'm sorry."

***Note: I figured that since George is now part of the family **_**and**_** off duty, that he would call Murdoch by his first name.**

Henry rubbed his neck. "Yes, sorry, sir."

A brief awkward silence where the two younger men looked away and then, "Well, now that we've got that settled," said Murdoch, a faint smile pulling at the corners of his lips, "I guess it's time for some revenge."

Like lightning, he kicked some snow into their faces, catching them off guard. While they were distracted, he ran behind a tree across the way and made a snowball. He stuck his head out for one second and was just about hit. More laughter from George. Waiting for his prey to make another move, he proceeded to make a small supply of ammunition. Chancing another look at the battlefield, he saw Henry doing the same. Their eyes locked and they almost simultaneously threw a snowball at one another's faces.

Ducking back behind his shelter and wiping the slightly wet powder from his eyes, he saw his son scampering over towards them and grinned. Julia had long since sat down on a bench watching from the sidelines once more. She was a bit annoyed at being excluded again. If it weren't for Olivia, she would have gladly joined in the fun. As it was, there was nothing she could do about it without risking her daughter being hurt or leaving her unattended. Boys will be boys, she thought and sighed.

Ben took cover behind the tree next to his father as he arrived.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue, son! I'm going to need all the help I can get dealing with these trouble makers!" Smiling widely, "Are you ready for war?"

His son shrieked gleefully and then slowly formed his own smaller snowballs. Murdoch's only goal right now was to get George back. As of yet, he had been unable to, his protege having the speed advantage. After all, there was a good reason he was now station house four's baseball pitcher!

Yet another bullet was dodged as he tried to hit George. Ineffectually Ben would toss his snowballs out into the middle of the field, too weak and unskilled to get them further. It was becoming very apparent that he was getting frustrated. Murdoch had an idea then. Like the amazing father he was, he was going to use his six year old son as bait!

"Okay, Ben, this is what we're going to do!" Pointing to a tree nearby, "You're going to run over to that tree! All right?" His son nodded vigorously, eager to be put to use. "On the count of three then. One, two," signalling with his hand, "three!"

Ben took off as fast as his little legs would take him in the snowfall, which as it turned out was surprisingly fast. As soon as he did, two snowballs came whizzing over his head. The added benefit to this strategy was that Ben was quite small, so was a much harder target to hit. Besides which, after Murdoch berated them about almost hurting his daughter, they weren't too likely to try too hard to hit his son.

As expected, the angle with which he had had Ben run in, had caused George's body to be partially revealed. By the time George realized this had been a setup, Murdoch had already hurled a nice large, compact projectile at his head, When it struck pay dirt, George yelped and then laughed, Murdoch joining in with him.

"Good one, Will!"

They continued on this way for some time until he had depleted his available supply of snow and was fairly exhausted himself.

"I call a cease fire, George! No cheating now!"

"All right!"

Murdoch stepped out from behind the tree, the others following suit and was promptly whacked with another snowball. He looked over his shoulder to find Julia standing there, laughing silently. She had left the stroller by the bench and was holding the baby now, meaning he had no way to retaliate.

"Well played, my dear, well played indeed."

"I'm glad you think so, William. I thought it only fair after you abandoned your girls."

Murdoch made a face at that but then said, "Alas Mrs. Murdoch, those are the ways of war!"

She rolled her eyes and they shared a smile. Then the others came over to say hello, Ben too busy making a snow angel nearby to do so.

"Henry," said Julia. "How nice to see you today! Merry Christmas!"

"The same to you, ma'am!"

"Julia," said George, giving her a loose hug so as not to crush the baby, "you are looking quite lovely today!"

"Thank you, George. Ever one for the flattery, I see."

He grinned and kissed her cheek. Turning his attention to the baby. "And so are you, my darling! May I?"

Julia nodded and George twirled the baby around with his arms outstretched, making her squeal with delight.

"That's quite enough, George," said Murdoch. "She's bound to get sick if you keep that up."

"Oh she's fine!" exclaimed George. "This one was born to fly!"

"_George!_"

He stopped immediately after and held Olivia facing him, a quizzical expression across her tiny pink face. "See, I told you she'd be-"

The next instant she had thrown up all over his coat. Everyone laughed, George included, as he used the snow to clean himself off. Soon after as they all continued their stroll along the path, Henry checked his pocket watch and yelped.

"Is that really the time! Sorry everyone but I've got to go!"

The Murdoch's looked at George enquiringly as Henry sprinted away.

Shrugging, "A lady friend of his, I believe."

"Speaking of which," said Julia, "where are my dear sister and niece?"

"Oh, Ruby and I were up late last night and she wanted to sleep in, they both did."

"George, it's almost eleven o'clock!" said Murdoch. "How late were you up till?"

Evasively, "Uh, I'm not exactly sure but after four."

"What could you possibly have been doing so late?" George blushed faintly and Julia said 'oh' quietly, becoming embarrassed as well. Murdoch still didn't get it. "Well?"

"_William_," she said sternly.

He took another look at an increasingly red George and finally clued in.

_Oh._


	4. Giddy Up Girl!

About a quarter after one, constable Worseley was leading a fine brown mare out of the police stables and into the small enclosed pen. The Murdoch's waited patiently (with Murdoch covering Ben's eyes) for this task to be completed; (George had left them previously to rouse his family before the whole day was wasted). Finally the gate was closed and Murdoch removed his hand.

Ben shouted aloud and ran to her, not startling her in the least. She was a very well behaved beast and had been chosen for just such a reason. The little tyke reached up as high as he could to try and pet her mane but was nowhere near tall enough. As if recognizing his quandary, the old girl lowered her head to his eye level and he proceeded to stroke her flowing dark brown hair for some time, small giggles of delight occasionally seeping through to the audible range.

All this time the constable had been standing by mutely but now Murdoch told him he could leave; that he would handle things from here on out.

"Would you like to ride her now?"

"Can I really, daddy?" he exploded.

Smiling, he nodded and his son clambered into his arms, positively vibrating with excitement. Murdoch lifted him up with some difficulty into the saddle as his son was squirming and his arms were still fairly fatigued.

"Hold on tight."

Even as he spoke the words, Ben had hurled himself horizontally across the mare's back and neck, clinging to her as if his life depended on it. But Murdoch knew that he did this out of a desire to be closer to her, not out of fear.

Reins in hand, he led the amiable couple slowly around the ring a few times. It was at this point that Ben thought to ask a rather basic question.

"Daddy?" he said somewhat unintelligible, voice muffled by the horse's hide.

"Yes, son?"

"What's her name?"

Murdoch arced an eyebrow. Since he biked most of the time, he wasn't overly close to the animals here. "As to that son, I do not know."

"Oh."

There was silence for a few seconds.

"What would you like her name to be?"

At that, Ben sat upright for the first time. "Penny!" he exclaimed without hesitation.

He arced the other brow as well, sharing a similar look with his wife. Murdoch didn't say what was on his mind. His son had just given the horse the same name as one of his female classmates. Maybe he simply liked the name? There didn't always have to be a hidden meaning behind everything. Ben was rather young for crushes after all.

"That's a lovely name!" called Julia from outside the fences. "I think it suits her just fine!"

"Thank you mommy! I'm glad you like it!"

For another twenty minutes they walked around the pen, Murdoch becoming increasingly bored with this unvarying exercise. Ben was again prostrate and smiling as if he were having the time of his life. Perhaps he was.

Brackenreid came out the back door then, briefly greeting the family.

"How goes it lad?"

"Great!" said Ben. "It's the best thing ever!"

Smirking, "Yes, you certainly seem to be quite taken with the old lass."

They still had access to the old girl for half an hour more and Murdoch decided to spice things up a bit. He launched himself up onto the space behind his son, startling the child out of whatever blissful reverie he was in.

"Daddy?" he enquired, shifting in the saddle to sort of face him.

"How about we go for a real ride, son?"

Ben was dumbfounded as if he couldn't believe his luck. Rather than speak he nodded vigorously.

"Please open the gate, Julia."

"William, are you sure this wise?"

"Only one way to find out, dear."

Sighing, she did as he asked and he winked at her in a very Brackenreid way.

"You blokes have fun!" said Brackenreid.

"We'll do our best, sir!"

Murdoch trotted Penny towards the street and vanished from view. Ben shrieked in merriment as they continued along the now mostly trampled down snowy road. After several minutes they veered right. Not long after that they entered an abandoned lot. The building that used to be there was now torn down. The intention had been to construct a large general store but the financial backers had cut funding and now there was nothing here save for some rubble.

As there was no fear of knocking anyone over here, Murdoch decided to go for some real speed. He gently kicked Penny with the heels of his boots and she took off, galloping faster than even he had expected for such an old horse. As a result he lurched backwards, Ben knocking into him and causing him to lose his hold on the reins. Clenching his thighs tightly he quickly righted himself. Then he repositioned both of them and was able to pay his full attention to the events in front of them. What he saw made his mouth run dry. They were about to collide into the side of one of the adjoining buildings!

Murdoch whipped the reins to the side forcing her off the path of destruction, just in the nick of time. Immediately after, he pulled up on the reins, making Penny rear and neigh loudly, bringing her to a stand still. Again they slid back a bit but not as much as the previous time as Murdoch had managed to hold on to the reins this time.

"Are you all right, Ben?" he asked, shell shocked and peeved at himself for making such a mistake. Apparently he was far more rusty than he had imagined. It had been close to two years since the last time, when he had chased after that bandit in a similar winter landscape.

"I'm perfect, daddy! Let's do that again!"

"I don't know, son..."

Ben gave him a puppy dog eyed look and Murdoch fell for his ploy, hook, line and sinker.

"All right, Ben, but don't tell your mother about this."

"I promise!" squealed the boy. "Let's go!"

"Hi-yah!" Murdoch yelled as he nudged Penny's ribs again. Once more they took off like a bullet but this time he was prepared for such a thing and they didn't have any more mishaps. He was sure they had garnered many curious looks from passersby but he paid them no mind, he was enjoying himself too much to care what others thought of their strange display.

When Penny began showing signs of fatigue Murdoch gradually reduced her speed until she was simply trotting again. At first Ben seemed disappointed at the change of pace but then he must have realized just how tired Penny was and understood why it was necessary. The last thing his son would ever want is to hurt a horse. They walked slowly the rest of the way back to the station house. No one was waiting for them by the pen. Likely they had been chilled standing around and so went in doors.

Murdoch rode into the stables and easily dismounted. He attempted to lift Ben but his son was being difficult.

"_Ben._"

"No!" he screamed clinging to her neck desperately. "I don't wanna leave!"

Murdoch sighed, having known this would be a possibility. "I'm sorry, Ben, but you can't stay up there all day."

"Why not?"

"Because son, Penny needs her rest. Surely you can recognize that?"

"Oh all right!" he cried, bursting into tears.

Murdoch lowered him down and Ben clung to one of her front legs instead.

"I'm gonna miss you so much girl! I'll never forget you! Not as long as I live!"

"Ben," said Murdoch trying not to laugh at his sons mistaken notion, "this isn't the end. You will see Penny again, if you'd like."

"Really?" whispered Ben, afraid he had heard wrong.

Murdoch couldn't help it, he had to laugh. "Of course, son. You can come visit her as often as you'd like."

"Oh boy!" he yipped, grabbing Murdoch's waist instead. "You're the best, daddy!"

Murdoch led the mare into an empty stall. Taking Ben's hand they ventured into the station house, greeting the few constables on duty. He saw that Julia and Olivia were in Brackenreid's office, having some sort of lively conversation over a cup of tea.

He opened the door, catching the tail end of one of Brackenreid's sentences.

"...never knew what hit him!"

Uproarious laughter followed on both sides and Brackenreid wiped some tears of joy away.

"Ah, Murdoch," he choked out. "I take it all went well?"

Slight hesitation that he was sure Julia caught as evidenced by a narrowing of her eyes. "Yes, sir, everything was just fine. Thank you for asking."

"And we're still on for this evening?" he enquired, looking back and forth between them.

"Yes, inspector," answered Julia. "Six o'clock sharp."

Smiling, "Good! Margaret would have my head if she didn't get to see all of you! She's been going on about this for weeks now! It's been driving me bloody insane!"

"How flattering," smirked Julia.

"Yes, well," grumbled Brackenreid, "best not mention that last bit to her."

"We wouldn't dream of it," replied Julia, clearly enjoying his discomfort.

"Shall we?" said Murdoch, holding out his arm, wanting to put an end to this.

She took it, they said goodby and were on their way.


	5. Intermission

For the next couple of hours, Murdoch and Ben took a nap. This was of course an inevitable conclusion to their exploits thus far. Additionally, in Murdoch's case, his lack of sleep the previous night had finally caught up with him. Coffee could only do so much. Perhaps it was for the best. Their evening plans were sure to keep them out for awhile, if past experience was any indicator. The last thing he wanted to do was doze off in whatever elegant food had been painstakingly prepared by George's kitchen crew. As you will see, the dinner festivities were scheduled to take place at The Crabtree's rather fine estate. Only there would the gang be free to roam about, unimpeded by the usual small confines of city living.

You may be asking yourself the following question; why did The Murdoch's not also live in a grand location? That shall be explained directly whether you care to hear or not. Though Julia's father, and through him Julia herself, certainly had the means for such a thing, (in fact Julia had previously occupied an estate with her demonic ex), it was expressly against the wishes of our endearing detective. Besides the obvious quandary of their differences in wealth and stature, for which he cared little, as did she, there was the added problem of their children; namely, the task of raising them.

Murdoch refused to have his son and daughter grow up to be proud, spoiled individuals who considered high society the epitome of life. He had dealt with far too many of these entitled brats throughout the course of his career to think this eventuality easily avoided. Rich people were not above the law; though disturbingly they seemed to get away with their crimes fairly often (or at least avoided the noose) when they employed the talents of their legions of lawyers.

Not that he expected his children to turn to a life of crime. But idle hands were the devil's play things, as his mother used to intone daily to him. No, they would have to work their way through life, they would not be handed everything on a silver platter. It should be mentioned that Julia was of much the same opinion as her husband, especially considering her first hand knowledge of the evils of growing up with extreme wealth. At one point she had been far worse than her sister had ever been and though she still loved her, she dreaded her children turning out like Ruby.

All of this is to say, that even if they tried to raise them a certain way, (what Murdoch considered the proper way) it would simply be that much harder to keep them grounded if they were constantly surrounded by servants and fancy things. And so it was that they resided within just a small housing complex, only slightly bigger than that which The Brackenreid's themselves inhabited. Not surprisingly this produced some scoffs from some of Julia's well to do friends, who eventually cut ties with her as a result. They were not missed in the slightest.

The Crabtree's had gone in the complete opposite direction. Ruby still remained one of those aforementioned spoiled brats (albeit to a lesser degree). Sure she was an independent woman who did not require any financial assistance, (whether from her husband or father) but she wasn't one to say no to decadence and luxury when it was surrounding her from all sides. And since both of the men in her life were rolling in money, (in case you have forgotten, George made his fortune through the stock market) she was bound to want to put it to good use. One could say with some firm assurance that their daughter Holly was one of the most spoiled brats in all of Toronto. However, the entirety of the blame cannot be wholly placed on Ruby. George was just as, if not more so, capricious in his spending habits with regards to his two lady loves. He did not wish to deny them anything, not if he had the means to make them happy, not after his own parents had abandoned him so completely.

In spite of their rather different views on child rearing (and life in general), they were closer than ever before. After all, they were all now part of the same family! For better or for worse, they would be expected to maintain contact. That is what was right, that is what was proper; and Murdoch was ever the proper one. But he was fairly concerned about what would happen to The Crabtree's down the road, if they kept up their fantastical spending. No matter how large the horde, it could always be exhausted.

Before long it was time to get ready for the party. Julia roused her boys from their peaceful slumbers and hurried their movements when they were both acting sluggish. Murdoch donned his tuxedo, a present from Julia who had known how little he liked renting the outfit for special occasions since countless others had worn it beforehand. Even so, he still thought it a rather extravagant indulgence on her part, to which she ignored, as was the case when she bought him that lovely blue suit that was unfortunately destroyed in the hot air balloon crash.

Ben was similarly dressed to his father, but in miniature form. Olivia was simply wearing what she always wore, something that Murdoch was quite envious of, considering the fact that he found the tuxedo somewhat binding. All annoyance was washed from his brain when he saw his wife. She was positively dazzling in her sapphire dress with her hair done up so intricately, so elegantly as to be a work of art. The lengths women went to look their best, astounded him, though he wasn't going to complain. It still boggled his mind how he had ended up with such a beautiful and just all around amazing person.

On top of all that, she was also adorned in a classic set of pearl earrings and a necklace to boot, a gift from her father on her (second) wedding day. He stared at her in such an intense way as she came down the stairs that she broke the silence.

"Has my hair fallen apart already?" she asked, as she hurriedly patted it around the circumference with her white gloved hands.

"Not at all, dear," he said quietly as his throat was dry.

Raising an eyebrow, "Then what's the matter?"

"Nothing's the matter, Julia. You simply look absolutely ravishing tonight."

She smiled at that and gave him a kiss. He didn't want it to end and began to get a bit carried away, his hands slowly sneaking up her neck.

"_William_," she warned, pulling away, "stop that. I've just spent a half an hour putting my hair up and we'll be late if I have to redo it."

"So we'll be late," he purred, bringing her towards him again.

After this second, more intense kiss began, Julia's reserve dissolved and she allowed herself to get caught up in the moment. About four seconds later, Ben rounded the corner and made his typical groaning sound and they parted soon after, before any real damage could be done to her hair or to their son's psyche. The poor kid had been scarred quite enough for one lifetime, no need to add to that.

Without further ado they entered the waiting carriage that George had insisted on sending and were on their way. The snow was coming down thick and heavy and so the journey was slower than expected. At this rate, they would definitely be late.

* * *

They arrived almost at the exact same time as some of Ruby's friends, of which they were not well acquainted with, so it was a bit awkward as they entered the spacious hallway. Christmas wreaths and holly were strung up everywhere and Murdoch's discerning eye spotted some mistletoe hanging up high as well, at _every _doorway. As to which of The Crabtree's idea that was, he couldn't say for certain, but if he had to guess, he'd go with Ruby. As nice as all that was, they did not grab one's attention quite like the magnificent beast of a tree in the centre of the hall. Every inch of the almost fifteen footer was covered with Christmas cheer. But for all that, and in a rare instance of self pride, Murdoch still considered his grander, as the lights had seemed to almost make his tree alive.

Christopher the butler took their coats and said to head into the dining area as dinner was about to be served. When they entered, they were immediately assailed by various people. First it was The Brackenreid's, as The Crabtree's were busy greeting Ruby's friends.

"You had us a bit worried," said Margaret to Julia as they hugged. "I was afraid you were not going to show."

Julia made eye contact with Brackenreid and said, "Oh, we would never dare disappoint you, not when our company should be so desirous as to throw contention among the ranks." Brackenreid scowled at that but when Margaret turned around to face him, his face was all kindness.

Next Julia's father, Richard, came over to greet them, complimenting them on such a fine looking family. Ben wanted him to pick him up but sadly he had gotten too big and Richard had gotten just that much older as to find that task difficult. As Murdoch was holding the baby, he couldn't exactly oblige his son in that regard either. Seeing this dilemma, Brackenreid swooped in and performed the task with aplomb, his own sons looking on somewhat enviously as it had been awhile since he had done that with them.

Lastly George and Ruby made their way over to them.

"So nice of you to finally make it, Jules," said her sister in such a way as to imply sarcasm.

Ignoring the fact that her sister's sexual appetites had kept her up so late as to sleep away most of the day, Julia replied, "Yes, it's lovely to be here, Ruby. As always, your home is quite stunning."

Looking a bit confused, "You could still have all of this too, Jules. I simply don't understand your refusal in this matter. When you were with Darcy," - at the mention of his name, Julia, George, Brackenreid and Murdoch stiffened - "you didn't seem to mind."

It was clear that Julia might lose it, even after all this time, so Murdoch quickly steered clear of that topic.

"Ah, Ruby," he said somewhat coldly, "would you be so kind as to direct us to our seats?"

"Of course, William, it would be my pleasure."

They were sat near the front of the lengthy table, where her own family was, leaving Margaret and the others too far away to easily carry on a conversation. It was a bit annoying to Murdoch that George let Ruby set it up like this, as if The Brackenreid's were not worthy to be among their number; as if they were such commoners as to not be worth notice. And judging by George's sheepish expression now, he knew Murdoch's feelings exactly.

In any case, as soon as they were seated, the servants filed into the room, arms laden with trays of food and drink. Once they were all served, Ruby nudged George and he stood up to make a bit of a speech, saying how wonderful it was to see everyone and thanking them for sharing this special day with them. At the end, he raised a glass, everyone following suit, (save for the babies) and clanked glasses with their neighbours. And so began the Christmas feast.


	6. A Wonderful Life?

"So tell me, George," said Murdoch as he scooped up some delicate pea soup, "where is Harriet?"

"I'm afraid that mother finds these sorts of things too fancy for her tastes." Glancing at Ruby's myriad's of friends, "It makes her uncomfortable being around well to do types." Smirking, "Well, other than me, especially when she is accepting my gifts."

"Yes," said Murdoch also smiling, "she was never one to say no to handouts. If I recall correctly, almost the first thing she did was ask you for money."

George laughed a bit at the remembrance. "Ah yes, my two mothers! That was quite a pickle! It's awfully lucky that the case we just happened to be working on at the moment helped me solve that dilemma!"

Murdoch nodded. "Very fortunate indeed."

Julia had been listening in on the conversation as Ruby was preoccupied with her friend Clara. "And what of your other family? The ones that raised you? Why are they also not present?"

"We had a more intimate gathering yesterday. Well, as intimate as it can be when you consider all of my aunts."

"Remind me how many you have again," she said, ignoring Murdoch's annoyed stare. "I met most of them at your wedding but for the life of me, I can't remember their names."

George became more animated. Counting on his fingers, "Oh, well, let's see, there's Aunt Amaryllis, April, Aster, Alyssa, Azalea..."

Julia was smiling and nodding here and there and winked at Murdoch when she saw just how irritated he was becoming. Murdoch didn't understand why she insisted on being such a trouble maker this evening. Then it hit him. Was this pay back for almost ruining her hair? Or did she think it was his fault that they had been a bit late?

This list went on for so long that Murdoch had finished eating his soup by the time George had concluded his recital. He sighed internally, extremely grateful for that monologue being over. His celebration was short lived.

"I'm sorry, George," said Julia mischievously, "I think I've already forgotten a few of those middle ones. Would you care to refresh my memory once more?"

"Hmm, I think I'll have to start from the beginning then."

Murdoch clenched his hands underneath the table top and screamed internally. However, for once Ruby was of good use. Since her attention was no longer diverted to others, she witnessed the scene unfolding before her with increasing disapproval.

"George, you have barely touched your soup! We can't go on to the next course until you finish! You are the master of the house after all!"

That snapped him out of that good and proper. "Terribly sorry, dear!" Then he began hastily consuming what by now must have been dreadfully cold fare.

Julia refused to show any signs of remorse and because of this his eyes wandered across the dining hall. He caught Brackenreid's eye as he was doing the exact same thing. They nodded at one another and then his boss got caught up in some other conversation that his wife had started.

When George had finished his soup, Ruby rang a bell and an army of servants jumped to everyone's sides, taking away the used dish. The next instant they were serving out oysters that were already opened. Ben looked at his with utter revulsion, poking the meat over and over again with his fork.

"Ben, stop playing with your food," said Julia.

"But it's so gross! What is it anyway?"

"That's an oyster, son," said Murdoch. "It lives under the sea."

"What does it taste like?"

"Why don't you find out for yourself?"

Ben studied it for a bit and said, "How do you eat it?"

Murdoch demonstrated by bringing his own oyster to his mouth and tipping the loose meat inside. Hesitatingly Ben followed suit. He chewed once, made a face and spit it out.

"Yuck! It tastes like dog poo!"

"Oh really?" enquired Julia. "And how exactly do you know what _that_ tastes like?"

Ben narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, refusing to answer or look at the partially masticated food on his plate.

"I understand you, Ben," said George. "I still don't much care for that fare myself. You don't have to eat it if you don't want to."

"Well, Ben, don't you have something to say to your uncle?" said Murdoch.

"Thank you, uncle George," he grumbled.

After that light drama, small portions of filet mignon were served. Ben was much more receptive to such food and quickly devoured it. Next was lamb and vegetables. Then there was some Foie Gras of which Ben would not even taste. The deserts came next. A rich chocolate pudding, Christmas chocolates and fruitcake. For whatever reason, barely anyone touched the cake.

Once they were all contented, there was about an hour in which they mingled, exchanged presents and digested their food before the dancing portion of the evening began. As if out of nowhere, a quartet appeared and a waltz was heard out in the enormous entry hall. Though Murdoch was still a bit ticked off at his wife, he held out his hand and they twirled around the room, couples on every side of the gigantic tree. Olivia and Holly had previously been stashed away in the latter's bedroom, away from all the noise so that they could get some sleep. A servant was on duty watching them. Ben, John and Bobby sat in the corner looking bored and Murdoch couldn't blame them. At their age, he would have found such a thing incredibly dull indeed.

After the first song concluded and before the next one started, he saw Ruby approach the boys with several young girls in tow. She introduced them and then rather begrudgingly, they offered their hands to them and took their places on the dance floor. Ben looked the most out of place as he was the youngest and had never had any dancing lessons. Murdoch couldn't help but smirk thinking that his son was probably just as bad a dancer as he used to be, disregarding the fact that they weren't even blood related. He caught Julia's similar look and then decided to break the silence.

"I hope you've forgiven me for before, Julia. I just couldn't help myself."

"No apologizes are necessary, William. I was the one behaving like a child."

"Yes, you certainly know how to push my buttons...in more ways than one."

They smiled at one another, the music started and they watched as Ben immediately stepped on the little girls feet. She shrieked at him and ran away to her mother, leaving Ben alone and feeling foolish. His parents went to him then and took him aside.

"Never mind her, Ben," said Julia. "Your aunt should have known better."

Eyes downcast, "How come I'm no good?"

"You just need to practice a bit," said Murdoch. "I'll have you know that I too was once a hopeless case."

Looking up, "Really?"

"Yes, he was absolutely dreadful," said Julia. "Nearly broke my toes!"

Ben grinned at that and hugged both of their waists. The three of them then pranced around like children, eliciting many stares and some laughs. But they were enjoying themselves too much to care what others thought.

When another three songs concluded, George came over to them with The Brackenreid's in tow.

"Have I got a surprise for all of you!" he exclaimed as he approached them. They shared a look amongst them. "Come on then!" he said leading them further into his mansion. "You won't believe your eyes!"

And he was quite right. George had built a bowling alley in his own home! (granted it was just a single lane but still).

"Bloody hell!" said Brackenreid, garnering an annoyed look from his wife.

"George," said Murdoch, "why on earth did you do this?"

George made a face. "Why not, Will? It's loads of fun! And the only other bowling alley in Toronto is not exactly close by!" They were all staring at him dumbfounded and he got a bit defensive. "Have any of you ever even played it before? I'm sure that if you had, you would understand!"

"How do you play Uncle George?" asked Ben excitedly running over to the two balls present in a bin. With difficulty he lifted one of them out and promptly dropped it on the ground narrowly avoiding his toes. Murdoch and Julia released a sigh of relief.

George smiled at that and went over to him. "It's very simple, Ben." He picked up the other ball, stuck his fingers in the three holes and walked over to the foul line. Then he swung back his arm and as he brought it forward, released the ball with surprising speed. The ball veered off to the side and he only managed to strike one pin down.

He turned around to face them but avoided eye contact. "It takes some practice," he mumbled, embarrassed.

Ben came over and with both hands rolled the ball slowly down the lane way. It took so long as to be a torment to witness. Finally it collided with the pins, knocking the rest down.

"Beginner's luck," muttered George.

The older among the group held back their laughs as best as they could. Ben was jumping around celebrating, and the boys were joining him.

"Well done, son!" called Murdoch.

"Yes, excellent form!" said Julia.

George was still grumbling as a servant finished repositioning the pins, allowing the next person an attempt. Another servant ran over to them with the two balls under his armpits and handed them to their master.

"Who's next?" he said more normally.

"Oh, I am, I am!" yelped John and Bobby at the same time.

They got angry at each other and started to fight but Brackenreid easily pulled them apart, telling them to stop that nonsense. Regardless of their misbehaving, he released them and let them take turns at the sport. So far, all the children had done much better than George but at least now he didn't seem to mind so much. Brackenreid and then Margaret went next. She struck down eight pins and her husband only got six. Julia hit nine down. Murdoch went up to the line, surveyed the almost non-existent slopes to the lane way for some time and then released the ball, slightly off centre. The speed combined with the trajectory made for a fearsome combination. He had gotten the first strike of the evening!

Everyone congratulated him and now that the practice round was over, the real game began. With only one lane and so many players, it took over an hour to complete. By the end, and to no one's surprise, Murdoch had won by a landslide. However, if he was taken out of the picture, the others scores were all fairly close. George had improved later on but he was still close to the tail end of that list.

Ruby came in then and scolded her husband for abandoning the party for so long. She had another purpose in being there though. She informed her sister that Olivia wouldn't stop crying.

Murdoch said, "I suppose that's our cue to leave then." He glanced at the large clock nearby and saw it was past ten o'clock. "Yes, we'd best be going now."

"Us as well," said Margaret, noticing how sleepy her boys were getting. They had not had a nap earlier in the day and had been up since six o'clock.

The Crabtree's escorted them back to the magnificent hallway were dancers were still about, though there were far fewer than before. While the Murdoch boys were getting their coats on, Julia went upstairs to tend to the baby and Ruby ordered a free carriage to be brought around front. A few minutes later, Julia returned with a contented Olivia, they said their goodbyes and were out the door. Christopher followed close behind with their presents. Once everyone and thing was settled, the coach driver took off at a brisk pace.

* * *

Back home they put the children to sleep, though as usual Ben was the more difficult of the two. He claimed he wasn't tired. Perhaps he wasn't. But that didn't change the fact that they expected him to go to sleep. Julia had to read him several bed time stories before he finally drifted off to sleep.

She found William busy reading an actual novel in bed. It was Dracula of all things!

"I'm surprised at you, William," she said as she took off her string of pearls, exposing her neck fully. "I always thought you were above such forms of entertainment."

Without looking at her he replied, "Things change, my dear."

"Oh?" she said as she removed her earrings. "And what may I ask elicited such a drastic change?"

"Ever since I arrested that prankster on Hallowe'en, I decided that I wanted to learn what the vampires allure was about first hand. Call it a scientific experiment if you'd like."

Releasing her hair from its entrappings, "And how are you liking it so far?"

"It's much more exciting than I was expecting. For a business man, Stoker had quite a vivid imagination."

Smiling, "Yes, that he does." She slipped out of her dress, so that she was mostly nude. "William, could you help me with my corset?"

"In a minute, Julia," he said, distractedly. "I'm at a crucial point. Harker's attempting to escape!"

"_William_."

The second he glanced over top the book, he tossed it aside and went to her. And this time nothing interrupted them.


End file.
